Evolve Funds files preliminary prospectus for U.S. cannabis ETF

Toronto-based Evolve Funds Group Inc. has filed a preliminary prospectus with Canadian securities regulators for an actively-managed ETF focused on the U.S. marijuana industry, the investment manager announced Friday.

The U.S. Marijuana ETF is meant to provide long-term capital appreciation by actively investing in equity securities of companies involved in the U.S. marijuana industry, “where state and local laws regulate and permit such activities,” a press release said.

“The U.S. marijuana market is poised to become the largest in the world as recreational and medical cannabis becomes legal at state levels,” Elliot Johnson, Evolve’s chief investment officer, said in a statement. “The U.S. growth opportunity in cannabis is similar to the ground floor in Canada over a year ago.”

Evolve will act as portfolio manager for the fund, which will incorporate a foreign-exchange hedging strategy to hedge back to the Canadian dollar, the firm said.

Toronto-based Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc. has also filed a preliminary prospectus with Canadian federal and provincial regulators for an ETF focused on U.S.-based cannabis companies.